372

INSEE 1961

Jean-Pierre Liegeois

Recensement du 6 mars 1961, rubrique d'origine nomade" Paris: INSEE

"Populations ittnerantes

ou Chapter 16

Kenrick, D. and G. Puxon 1972 The Destiny of Europe's Gypsies. London: Heinemann. Liegeois, J-P. 1971 Les Tsiganes. Paris: Editions du Seuil. 1976 Mutation tsigane. Bruxelles: Editions Complexe. 1978 Boherniens et pouvoirs publics en France du XVeme au XIXeme siecle. Etudes Tsiganes 4: 10-30. 1979 Tsiganes, nomades et pouvoirs publics en France au 20eme siecle. Pluriel-Debat 19: 69-88. 1980a La fin du voyage. Monde Gitan 53: 5-10. 1980b Gitans et pouvoirs publics en Espagne. Ethnopsychologie 1: 67-84. 1980c Pedagogic et acculturation. In: J-P. Liegeois (ed.) La scolarisation des enfants tsiganes et nomades: 265-287. Paris: Ministere de l'Education Nationale/Centre de Recherches Tsiganes. 1981a Expulser les nomades. Esprit (March Issue): 31-36. 1981b L'environnement. In: J-P. Liegeois (ed.) Les populations tsiganes en France: 45-57. Paris: Ministere de l'Education Nationale/Centre de Recherches tsiganes. 1981c Comment peut-on etre Tsigane? Paris: Groupement pour les droits des rninorites. 1981d Rejets eternels: les collectivites locales face aux Tsiganes et aux nomades. Pluriel-debat 28: 75-101. 1985 Gypsies and Travellers. Council of Europe. 1986 Gypsies. London: Al Saqi Books. Massart,
1970

IN SEARCH OF GUILT: LEGENDS ON THE ORIGIN OF THE PERIPATETIC NICHE

Michael

Casimir

"Though guiltless, you must expiate your father's sins." Horace, Odes III, VI, 1.

J
Seminaire sur les populations d'origine nomade. Rennes: Ecole Na-

tionale de la Sante Publique. Massenet, M.

1970 Presentation. Lecture delivered at the "Seminaire sur les populations d'origine nomade". Rennes: Ecole Nationale de la Sante Publique.

Vaux de Foletier, F. de
1961 Les Tsiganes dans L'Ancienne France.

Paris:

onnais ance du

Peripatetics have been defined as endogamous and primarily non-food producing nomads who subsist on the sale or exchange of goods and/or services. They live in most parts of the world among sedentary or other mobile populations, as low-status groups. This inferior status derives largely from their traditional occupations and their apparently meagre posessions, a symbol for poverty. If we apply the definition of a niche as given, for example by Colinvaux (1982: 394) we find that it implicitly takes into account both roles and status. Colinvaux speaks of "... a specific set of capabilities for extracting resources for surviving hazard and for competing, coupled with a corresponding set of needs." A specific set of capabilities implies role performance and to every role there is a corresponding status. In the case of peripatetics the roles they perform collide with the norms and values of the larger society. These roles are thus, generally inferior and sometimes despised; hence their status in the wider society is often very low. N p

II II

,: \

Monde. Wiklund, 1969

Rapport sur La situation d

mbh!

n ul . tiv du

374

Michael J. Casimir

In search of guilt

375

and sorted out at the psychological level. At the same time strategies must be evolved to use their primary resources (customers) in the best possible manner.

Guilt-feelings can be converted into feelings of shame, when a person publicly acknowledges his misdoings. As Lebra puts it:
"Guilt and shame may be exchanged on a social market as when the guilty person makes public apology so that the price of shame is payed to buy freedom from guilt." (p. 254)

Guilt

and Punishment

Assuming that all basic human psychological mechanisms are in principle the same, it can be postulated that psychological stress i~ :,orked out in a similar fashion. Of all human processess of cognmon, of knowledge acquisition and experience, the following are of universal significance:
1. Every event has an origin, or cause which is traceable to natural or

In all cultures physical or mental suffering is often interpreted as a punishment for an act of guilt. Even when no such wrongdoings can be identified, this kind of interpretation is validated by projecting the guilt on some ancestor in the hoary past. This interpretation of suffering as punishment can sometimes even be applied to animals. Thus, the slaughter and consumption of geese on St. Martin's Day (November 11th) in Germanyl was justified by explaining that cackling geese had betrayed the Saint's retreat when the latter, chosen as Bishop of Tours (A.D. 371) had hidden himself in humility. A Renaissance song goes:
,:Washaben denn die Gins' getan, da~ so viel's Leben miissen Ian?

supernatural sources. . 2. All actions which can be related to the norms and values of a gIven society exert an influence on the status of the actor. 3. The violation of social norms and values can be construed as guilt, or sin and may lead to feelings of guilt or shame in the violator. The latter may then atone for his doings through acts of repentance, or by accepting punishment. 4. Atonement and expiation generally consist of unpleasant actions or situations. The term guilt will be used here to cover all violations of norms and values. The violation of specifically divine decrees has often been defined as sin (e.g. Mitchell 1985: 165); I shall, however, consider this here as a specific form, or sub-category of guilt. Following Lebra (1971), a distinction will be made, however, between the feelings of guilt and shame: guilt feelings arise when reciprocal relations are not respected in a social or religious context. Lebra writes (p. 243):
"Guilt emerges ... when such a balance collapses, that is, when Ego has over-exercised his rights vis-a-vis Alter without fulfilling corresponding obligations ... "

and the answer is:

Sankt Martin han verraten darum tut man sie braten."

This logic of suffering as a symbol of punishment is taken to its extreme when the guilty are condemned to lifelong suffering, or punishment, as in the classical Greek myths of Tantalus, Sysyphus and Prometheus. In later times it is embodied in the legend of the Wandering Jew
"... a man in Jerusalem who, when Christ was carrying His Cross to Calvary and paused to rest for a moment on this man's doorstep, drove the Saviour away ... crying aloud ... 'Walk faster!' And Christ replied, 'I go, but you will walk until I come again!'" (Anderson 1965: 11)

Lebra relates the feelings of shame, on the other hand, to context In which social tructure is a ymetrical: "Shan resuhs Irorn wbatcvcr happcn l undermin ) d'nillllth I. imcd I tu I I' v\lil1l\ 0111 ddll how v I 'trivlal' ... nl i h lnlm w Iii Ii ill 11I1 i I 111 iI Ii iii I 1111." p. I I
I'

Christ's verdict must be understood in the context of a society in~ which an apparently aimless migration (wandering) without apparent possessions (e.g. flocks, or goods in bulk) was viewed as the lot of the wretched. Just this apparently aimless wandering without major, visible re ourc nstitute th image f pcripateti in most societies. Since th s P ripat ti at 1 st p rtly . pt th ba i valu s f their ma roj ty, hey t 0 in I II is im: . leplo II . n I pitiful. But h y must .1 live witl i 111m nipulntc it t i thcir : lvnnt H ,.s sthisisp ssihlc.J IIH' I tluu nuu: 1'1(l1d I 11I1 I \Ill( III V 1.11 'Iii Iti '( rn
"I'll III Ii "
1111 III ,11111111 11111111111 I II 1\

376

Michael J. Casimir In search of guilt

377

munities reflect this dilemma, while explaining, and almost justifying the origin of their niche. I follow Kirk (1970: 31) in his definition of legends (as distinct from myths and folktales) as tales of a "... historical or historizing nature ... (which) are founded, or implicitly claim to be founded, on historical persons or events." The content of legend is, in very many cultures context and audience-specific; this is also true of the legends peripatetics narrate about their origins. Especially when, in certain situations the audience consists of non-peripatetics, such legends can serve not only to reduce psychological stress, but also to 'manipulate' resources.

A related story recounts that the three sons quarreled after the death of their father. One of them forsook his rights and lost all his possessions. A different legend tells of a queen who was having an affair with the most eminent blonpo. The king caught them and sent them both away to be beggars:' (Erdmann 1984: 154)

Gadulia

Lohar

(North

India)

Legends

About

Pe_ripatetics

These legends are of two broad types: those narrated about peripatetics by others, and those peripatetics themselves narrate. The following legend is an example of the former type, and is narrated in Turkey (Garnett 1891: 356-357):
"In the early days of their wanderings the Gipsy tribe arrived at Mehran, and during their sojourn there they constructed a wonderful machine which was to be worked by turning a wheel. All their efforts, however, to turn this wheel were in vain until, by the advice of an evil spirit under the guise of a holy man, or, as some say, a sorcerer, their chief, Chen, consented to marry his sister, Guin, a union which gave to the Gipsy nation the name of Chenguin, by which they are generally known in Turkey at the present day. This unnatural marriage coming to the knowledge of a Moslem saint in the neigbourhood, not only the parties to it, but the whole tribe were laid by the holy man under the following terrible curse: - 'May you ... be scattered as outcasts and wanderers to the four corners of the earth, ever homeless, poor, and wretched, never enjoying the fruits of your labour, realising wealth, or acquiring the esteem of mankind.'"

This basic theme of ancestral guilt recurs in many of the leg nd whi h peripatetics themselves narrate. I shall now take a cl er 1 k at h

"Maharana Pratap was a very brave man. Our ancestors were also with him. He had won many battles. He had the blessings of Kalka Mata. She had told him that she would always be at his back in war but that he sho.uld never look back. When Rana Pratap saw a very large army of the enemy he got frightened and he looked back to make sure whether his chiefs were with him or not. On his back was Kalka Mata and he saw her. Such a disregard of her instructions infuriated her and so she cursed him that he should be defeated in the war. Rana was defeated in the war and was forced to live in jungles. He had to eat bread made out of grass and hat to wear clothes made of wild grass and leaves.... After Rana was defeated, our ancestors also came out in jungles along with him. There was a sister of Rana, called Padma. Rana told her that his people were disintegrating, and so she should go and see if anything could be done for them. She was coming in her chariot towards our people and on the way in the jungle, the axle of her chariot broke down. Our caste people saw this and told her that as they did not know the art of blacksrnithy, and as they did not have any tool they were helpless to repair her chariot. She asked them not to worry and assured them of her help. At that time bellows were patterned after the nose, the forge was made after the mouth, the anvil after the knee of the leg, the tongs after the left hand, and the right hand provided the example of hammer. With these equipments they repaired the axle of her chariot. She was very much satisfied and said that from then on that would form the kit of their tools and blacksmithy would be their profession." (Misra 1977: 14-15)

In another legend rep rted by Mis~ it is narrated that, ". .. once Kalka Mata (a p werlul fcmal d ity f hakti cult) cursed them on some occasi n that th y uld n t lead as tl d lif ," (Mi ra 1977: 13)

B - a(
"1\11

a d ak h)

or

ld king hnd ehrcc sons.Thc f] tl .. rn'kil1~1 L II h,lh ,u~ n I Ill-I I1f, 01' vn 111.\ ,'I'h lhild on IIi! 0 r

"
II

378

Michael J. Casimir la recut, ilia pietina et renvoya le messager du Prophete. Mohammad demanda son messager comment il avait ete recu par Kayhan et par les autres rois et que lies avaient ete leurs reponses. Le messager repondit: 'certains l'ont placee sur leur tete, d'autres sur leur coeur et certains l'ont mise dans leur poche, mais Kayhan l'a placee sous son genou,' Hazrat-e Behtartn-e 'Alam dit alors: 'Puisqu'il a rnarche dessus, que sa maison soit ruinee .. :; et c'est pourquoi les gens de Kayhan sont aujourd'hui encore eparpilles dans Balucistan et Iran .... Ie jour vint ou tout le peuple de Balucistan se revolta contre lui, le detrona et le tua. Seuls son fils et sa fille purent echapper au massacre.... Arrives a Herat, ils ... se mirent en quete de nourriture. Ayant toujours tres peur d'etre tues par les Baluc, ils partirent tot le lendemain Kandahar, C'est ici qu'ils deciderent d'acheter des tentes et c'est depuis ce ternps-Ia que nous avons des tentes," (Rao 1982: 220; d. Rao 1982Jor other versions of this legend).

In search of guilt

379

attendit que ce clou refroidit ... (Mais) le clou restait incandescent ... Terrifie, le Tzigane chargea sa tente sur son ane et s'enfuit .... Et ce dou apparait toujours devant les tentes des descendants de l'homme qui forgea les clous pour crucifier Yeshua ben Miriam. Et quand le clou apparait, les Tziganes fuient. C'est pour cela qu'ils se deplacent toujours." While this version of the legend portrays a purely negative attitude, condemning the 'Gypsy' smith and his descendants and explaining nomadism in terms of a punishment, there are other versions of this legend in which a positive view is taken on the whole, since the smith, when he learned what the Nails were intended for, hid, or stole the fourth Nail. These positive versions are sometimes used to explain that, unlike sedentists, 'Gypsies' are 'free' to go where they like, pursue any occupation, and may steal (cf. Rao 1974: 38, where a Sinti woman stole the fourth Nail), without being caught (d. Salo 1977). Salo (1977: 44) briefly sums up the negative and positive verions of this legend as follows: "Various versions of the Nail of the Cross legend account for the Gypsies' nomadism and success in theft. According to one story the Gypsies are rewarded for stealing the nail intended to piece Jesus' heart by being forgiven for future thefts, but punished by being made to wander. Another has the Gypsies condemned to wander for having forged the nails for the crucifixion ... In a third, nomadism is seen as a blessing given as a reward for having stolen the nail: Gypsies will never go hungry, they may order their lives as they please, may decide to move on when they wish. A fourth has the Gypsies rewarded by a promise of success in theft: "Yea, it was supposed to be a Gypsy fellow that stole the nail, that was supposed to go into his heart, or something. And ever since then, they say, the God's supposed to say, Christ, he says there'll always be Gypsies. As long there'll be Gypsies, there'll be stealing going on. And they'll never get caught. That's pretty well the truth, pretty well the truth ... " Salo further suggests that, while several 'Gypsies' are aware of one ore more versions of this legend, they narrate them less out of conviction, than ut f curiosity - more as an example of the image non-Gypsies' havf' yp ics', 'WI kn w n xt t n thing about the specific context in whi h ' ypsy' I 'g nus w r n rrat d in th pa t, but at least orne ( r the , I 'H n Is h, ve I 'II r ord I. TT re 11 W r ~ ur u h 1 g nd .

Rao and Casimir follows:

(in press) mention

another

legend which

runs as

"Siaun sat atop a hill weaving a sieve and then he grew hungry. A piece of bread appeared, first within reach, but then, since God was angry with our ancestor, the bread rolled down the hill and up the next and Siaun had to run after it for many miles before he could finally catch it. This is why we, his descendants, still have to walk so far and wide to find our ruzi (food):'

'Gypsies' Unlike the other communities referred to here, among various traditionally peripatetic 'Gypsy' groups several legends have been recorded concerning the origins of their niche; for a recent discussion of these legends see Mirga (1985). There is a particularly great contextual variation in these legends, the most well known of these being, perhaps, that about Christ's Curcifixion and the forging of the Nails of the Cross by a 'Gypsy' smith. Clebert (1961: 17-19) summarizes this legend, following Bercovici (1928) and de Ville (1956), as follows:

380

Michael J. Casimir

In search of guilt

~H I

hinterlassen kannst?" ... "Ich brauche nur eine solche Frau, (antwortete er) die meinen Willen stets befolgt; ist sie mir nur einmal ungehorsam, so muss ich sie verfluchen!" ... Lange Zeit lebten sie in bestem Einverstandniss, denn die Frau that nie etwas zur Unzufriedenheit ihres Mannes ... Da traf es sich einmal, dass er spat in der Nacht von einem Kranken, den er zu heilen suchte, heimkam und zu seiner Frau also sprach: "... wenn morgen der Tag darnmert, so wecke mich auf ... " ... Sie liess also ihren Gatten weiter schlafen, und als sie ihn weckte, da beschien schon die Sonne die weite Erde. Da sprang der weise Mann von seinem Lager auf und sprach: "... Nun also sei verflucht und wcrde eine Pflanze, die, von Thieren und Menschen gemieden, in ihrer Frucht so viele Korner enthalt, als du Kinder auf die Welt gebracht hast! Deine Kinder sollen die ganze Welt durchwandern und dich iiberall hinfiihren; du aber sollst ihnen dienen und gehorsam sein miissen!" Hierrauf verschwand der weise Mann und aus der Frau entstand der Stechapfel, den ihre Kinder mit sich in die Welt fiihrten und iiberall verbreiteten'--Man sagt eben, wir stammen von den Kindern dieses Ehepaares ab ... " (Wlislocki 1890: 7-8) "God, having created the nations of the world, summons them before Him. Having stopped to gather fruit, the Gypsies are late; God decrees they will always be so. The Gypsies are together with the Jews in Egypt, and are drowned in the Red Sea. The sole survivor, a blind and lame woman, marries her handsome savior, who turns out to be the Devil. 'And we were all her children ... There is no one more devilish than we. Since then, we are people who wander, without a country, homeless ... (A1630)'" (Maximoff 1948: 110-114 in Salo 1977: 44) "... un jour au paradis, Dieu alla trouver Adam et Eve. Puisqu'ils avaient honte d'avoir beaucoup d'enfants, ils n'en firent voir qu'une partie a Dieu et cacherent les autres. Dieu demanda si ceux qu'il avait en face de lui etaient tous les enfants qu'avaient Adam et Eve et ils dirent oui. Dieu se mit en colere et dit qu'a partir de cet instant, il n'aurait pris soin que de ceux qu'il voyait, tandis que ceux qui avaient ete caches seraient devenus Tsiganes. De ceux-ci, Adam et Eve devaient prendre soin; ils auraient vecu dans les bois et seraient toujours restes sans maison. Seuls les autres dont lui merne prenait soin, auraient eu maison et terre." (Strukelj, 1980: 225 in Piasere, 1985: 249) "Once upon a time a tribe suspected its chief of practising incest. He and his followers were banished and a fearful curse was pronounced on them by a powerful magician: they should wander forever across the earth, never spend two nights in the same spot, never drink twice from the same pring, never ford the same river within one year:' (Berovici 1929: 25 in Berger n.d.: 822; author's translation)

Inaden

(West Africa)

"The Inaden were living independently when a famine struck. The Pr ph t Mohammad passed through their territorry and they asked Him for help, II gave them a strand of His hair and said, 'You will never know misery. I 111-\ as you keep this strand of hair'. And indeed, the Inaden enjoyed prosperity. In time, they forgot that they owed their prosperity to the Prophet's strand of h ir and sold it to some passing Arab caravan traders. Once again, the Inaden C II into misery, and since then the Arabs have been wealthy and the lnaden p r, begging their food from the mighty of this world." (Casajus, this volume: 2 )

Killekyatha

(South

India)

"It is said that one ... Mahratta Okkaliga woman became intimate with a mt n of the Goldsmith caste named Kattare Kalachari and had seven sons by him. They were, of course, put out of caste, and the smith taught his son to me k dolls out of mats, leaves, pieces of leather, and earn their living by exhibiting marionettes before village audiences. The brothers of the woman, who w rc poor, were induced to join their nephews subsequently, and they formed , separate caste by themselves, reinforced by other accessions. It was after this that they migrated to different parts of southern India." (Nynjundayya & Iyer 1930, Vol. III: 517-518 in Morab 1977: 15)

Griots

Malinke

(Guinea)

"Sourakhata ... est l'ancetre de tous les griots ... Mohammadou ayant voulu le convertir, il refusa et decida avec Bagali, Aoualidou, Iwayou, Abadiali (?) de tuer Ie Prop here. Ils Ie blesserent, et Sourakhata ayant bu le sang de la blessure fut maudit par Mohammadou, et condamna errer eternellement, lui et ses enfants." (Arcin, 1970 in Zemp 1966: 615-616)

M.

k n (t h

- all

a-Gypsies

of Southeast

As ia)"

382

Michael J. Casimir

In search of guilt

383

grew to manhood. The mother sent the lad to the other side of the island, and after his depature, changed herself into a young girl and went to meet him. The lad took her as wife, and she bore the first Mawken." (Bernatzik 1938: 45 in Sopher 1965: 64)

der Schlacht bei Kerbela' (61 = 680) den Husain b. Ali mit dessen Anhangern und Streitgenossen im Stich gelassen haben und somit die Mitschuld an ihrer Niedermetzelung tragen." (Enzykl. des Islam, old ed.: 553)

Waata Qalandar (Pakistan)

(East

Africa)

"During the period of Sikander (Alexander, before Jesus or Mohammed ... our forefathers were zamindars (landowners) living a very happy life with land and many cattle. One day a woman among our ancestors was preparing the evening meal at her house. There was a knock at the door. When she opened the door, there stood a beggar asking for something to eat. "do and beg from other places first", she said, "my food is not prepared yet. But come back later:' Some time later the beggar came back, but just at that moment the woman burned her hand and so she shouted at him, "Go away, you are like a dog sitting there begging." Before he left, the beggar gave her a bedua (bad wish) and said, "Your entire family will always wander around like a dog begging for food." ... A few months later, a big disaster came and destroyed all the buildings, crops, and animals, and the family was starving. The entire biradari (brotherhood) met and discussed the beggar's bedua. They decided to search for the beggar and appologize for the woman's sharp words. After searching for many years they found the beggar and cried at his feet to please turn the bedua ... The fakir told them that a bedua cannot be called back from God and that they would always have great disasters in their live. "However", said the beggar, "to help you earn a daily living take this bear and this monkey, train them, and they will earn your bread ... " Since that time ur life is dependent on our animals. We always have to move for two reason. Wi cannot perform animals shows in one area every day, and if we have land, c disaster will come and destroy us .. :' (Berland 1982: 75-76)

"Once upon a time, four people were walking along together in single file: Sky-God, a Gabbra man, a Waata man and a Boran man. Sky-God pretended to trip and fall. The Gabbra man, who was following him, murmured words of sympathy and averted his gaze from the Mighty One out of awe and respect. The Boran man immediately went to Sky-God's side and helped him to get up. The Waata man merely laughed. God said that henceforth, the Gabbra would be blessed with all the stock; the Boran would be blessed with the gift of cattle. The Waata, however, would always be beggars, dependent on the Gabbra for milk and must live to the west of a Gabbra camp and be an eternal object of mockery" (Kassam 1985: 3; for other versions of this legend see Dahl 1979: 177, who heard these from Waata informants: Dahl personal communication). "Sky-God called all the people together and told them to bring their containers to the gathering. He distributed milk to the people. One young boy refused to attend this meeting. When the people had drunk the milk and found it very sweet-tasting, Sky-God gave them all livestock to rear and milk. When the young boy heard about this, he came to Sky-God to request his share. Sky-God gave him some for not having come to taste the milk he had offered. He pronounced that the boy's container would never contain anything but blood. The boy was very hungry, so he slaughtered all the animals he had been given and ate them. Then he ate and killed a donkey which was not a domesticated animal at the time. Finally, he made a bow and arrow, obtained some poison and started to hunt wild animals for food:' (Kassam 1985: 4) "When Sky-God first created the world, he called all the people to a meeting and distributed the different categories of livestock to them. The Waata arived at the meeting late and Sky-God had already given away all the animals. So Sky-God decreed that the Waata would never own any stock but would always be beggars, dependent on the Boran for food. He said that the Boran would rive them milk and a spe ifi cut of meat." (Kassam 1985: 4) t\ 11 th . I 'g .nds m .rui 11 .d h ire br adly f II w a pattern which can I . i lcnri i ,I in scv I I th 'I" such pcrip n.i ,I g nd ,and which can be lis, tcd illl tlu ,11\ i 1,111, 'l'h 'N' I, rts l r ': II. t 'i!.ilmirlf!., the tran\~llf\\;1I11 Illd II 11\1/1111 }II ,'1'111 I Ii I II \1 'II 1'11'11 IN I 'I't inin
I

Su l a ib (Arabia)

III
II

liliitilllllll\

111\11111111 1 ""1111
II

jllll

ul th It

ntll,llIllIlI~tlllllt~

iii

/ /1/1111

Ii

1111'11 t 1111

11111 \I II I 11111

384

Michael J. Casimir

In search of guilt

Table I The basic structure of 19 legends collected among 13 peripatetic societies

PERIPATETIC GROUP BEDA (Ladakh) IN THE BEGINNING THE TRANSGRESSION Fraternal discord Adultery The king disobeys Kalka Mata Insulling the Prophet Mohammad Unknown transgression by ancestor THE RESULTANT FATE Dispossession Begging Defeat, dispersal, nomadism and smithery Dispossession, dspersal and nomadism Hunger and Nomadism AUTHOR Erdmann (1984:

heritage. The transgression is either against divine, or human rd r. 'I'h is becoming peripatetic with, in most cases, the a ing stigma of the peripatetic niche - poverty, hornlessness and tion.
resultingfate

1. Princes 2. Queen
Followers of the King Maharana Pratap

154)
Misra (1977:

GADULIA LOHAR (North India)

14-15)
Rao (1982: 220) Rao and Casimir (in press) Wlislocki (1890:

Legends

of Origin

as Adaptive

Strategy

1. King
GHORBAT (Afghanistan)

2. King

1. A wise man and a woman

'GYPSIES' (Europe & U.S.A.) 2. Creation 3. Adam & Eve 4. A tribal chief

Disobedience

of wife

Origin of group Poverty Homelessness Abandoned by God, destitution and nomadism Eternal nomadism Wandering'

7-8)
Salo (1977: 44) Piasere (1985: 249) Bet Cle [n.d.: 615) rt (1961:

a. Disrespect towards God b. Intercourse with the Devil Swindling God Suspected incest Forging the nails for the Cross' Ingratttude towards the Prophet Mohammad Intercaste sexual intercourse

5. A Gypsy smith
INADEN (Niger) Independent people

16-19)
Misery, desti1ution, subjugation Outcasted. migration. present occupation Casajus (this volume) Morab (1977: 15)

KILLEKYATHA (South India)

A Mahratta Okkaliga woman and a goldsmith

GRIOTS MALINKE (Guinea)

A man Sourakhata

Plotting against the Prophet Mohammad. juring him and drin king his blood

in

Elernal nomadism for hill and his descendanls

Zemp (1966: 615)

MAWKEN (Southeast Asia)

Princess

a. Intercourse with a dog b. Incest (mother/son) Stealing the oillamps of Mecca Refusal of alms

Origin oi first Mawken

Sop/ler (1965: 64) Weber (1986); cf also Canova

NAWAR (Egypt)

A man Abu Nur

Explusion and migration

(1981)
Nomadism, beggary Berland (1982:

QALANDAR

(Pakistan)

landowners

751.)
SHEIKH MOHAMMADI (Afghanistan) Sons Sheikh Rohani, Gambling and olher a saintly man forms of misbehaviour a. Incest (mother/son) b. Forsaking Husayn, the Prop/let's grandson duo ring the battle of KerbeiS' 1. Mocking God I 1(1 IIPMlId'

Dispersion and nomadism

01 n (Ihls velum)

Two recent types of contextual interpretation of myth and legend r the historical (e.g. Luig 1985) and the ecological (e.g. Wright and irks 1983); for a comprehensive review of such interpretations see y (1984). Whereas in the former an attempt is made to reconstruct th history of a community by interpreting its legends more or less literally, in the latter it is assumed that legends mirror the strategies adopted by a group in new habitats. A contextual interpretation of peripateti legends, however, must be, I suggest of a psychological nature. The legends largely illustrate how peripatetics see that part of their niche which is their status. Figure 1 illustrates the universal expression of the relation between trangression of norms and values, guilt and punishment. It shows that the cognitive process found in peripatetic legends is the reverse of this expression. On the one hand the legends are a consolation to them, since they assure them both of a decent genealogy and of the fact that they themselves are not to be blamed for their present condition. On the other hand, these legends can serve - and have done so in the past - to get the maximum out of their host societies. Noble ancestry, true remorse and destitution are, in many societies factors which contribute to the success of peripatetics in their spontaneous dealings with customers. Several 'Gypsy' groups migrating in western Europe in the fifteenth century made use of such a strategy. Calling their leaders Prince, Duke, or Count, many such groups proclaimed themselves christians going on pligrimage t expiate their sins, and were well received by local authorities. De Vaux (1970: 103) has described the situation as follows:

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In search of guilt

In this chapter I have tried to show how legends which peripatetics themselves narrate about their origins all follow the same basic pattern; the thread running through them all is the search for guilt, the search for the sinner. Many of the legends narrated about peripatetics by others also follow this basic pattern. This does not mean that peripatetics do not narrate other legends as well; it means simply that this type of legend is narrated among almost all peripatetic communities studied so far. The peripatetic niche is thus, probably the most uniformly and universally represented one in human oral tradition (Casimir in press).

Suffering Grass: Substistence and Society of Wt,W JIll holm: Stockholm Studies in Social Anthr p: III The Many Meanings of Myth. New Yc rk: America. des Islam: 55

Enzykl. des Islam (old ed.) Sulaib. In: Enzyklopaedia

Erdmann, F. 1983 Social Stratificationin Ladakh: Upp 'r E I lit unl l 'I Kantowsky and R. Sanders (ed .) R 1'1111',1,,/ """ / 165. Miinchen: Weltforum Y, rl: . Garnett, L.M.J. 1891 The Women of Turkey and Kassam, A. 1985

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Lebra, T.S. 1971 The Social Mechanism of Guilt and hame: The Japane ease. Anthropological Quarterly 44: 241-255. 1982 Shame and Guilt: A Psychocultural View of the Japanese Self. Ethos 11: 3-20. Luig, U. 1985 Orale Tradition als Interpretation von Geschichte. Die Sage von Aura Poku. Antbropos 80(1/3): 101-124.

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ygan6w amity 0 ich genezie. (The Stereotype of the nd th Myth about their Origin). Prace Etnografice 20:

Colinvaux, P.A. 1982 11 ward . Theo

f I fist 'y:
0/1\'

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41.

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS FREDRIK BARTH, Etnografisk Museum, Oslo. JOSEPH C. BERLAND, Department of Anthrop University, Islamabad. MICHAEL BOLLIG, Institut flir Volkerkund , Koln. DOMINIQUE que, Paris. CASAJUS, Centre Nari nal d 1.

111\

Rao, A. 1974 1982

Romano Tram - A Brief Survey of Some Aspects of Manush Gypsy Life. Indian Anthropologist 4(1): 28-39. Les Gorbat d'Afghanistan. Aspects economiques d'un groupe itinerant 'lat'~ Paris: Editions A.D.P.F. Memoire n 14.

MICHAEL J. CASIMIR, Institut fUr V lit -rkun Kal.q, Kaln.

I , I Jui

I II I

II

Rao, A. and MJ Casimir in press How Non-Food-Producing Nomads Obtain Their Food. Peripatetic Strategies in Afghanistan. In: G.A. Harrison and 1. de Garine (eds.) Coping With Uncertainty in Food Supply. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Salo, M.T. 1977 The Expression of Ethnicity Folklore XXXVI (1): 33-56. in Rom Oral Tradition. Western

ROBERT M. HAY Pittsburgh. IGNACY-MA

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Sopher, D.E_ 1965 The SeaNomads. A Study Basedon the Literature of the Maritime Boat People of Southeast Asia. Memoirs of the National Museum No.5. Thapar, R. 1982 Householders and Renouncers in the Brahmanical and Buddhist Tradition. In: T.N. Madan (ed.) w:ayof Life. King, Householder, Renouncer: 273-298. Delhi: Vikas Pub!. House.

WILLIAM Orkney. JEAN-PIERRE LIE Paris V, Paris.

11

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I', I , I

II

DAVID NEMETH, Department of Geography, Univer ity nia, Los Angeles (UCLA). ASTA OLESEN, Institut f. Etnografi og Socialantropologi, University f Aarhus, Aarhus. U~ NARDO PIASERE, Facolta di magistero, Universita di Verona,
Vl"'OIl .

Vaux de Voltier, F. de 1970 Mille ans d'histoire des Tsiganes. Paris: Fayard. Wlislocki, H. von 1890 Vom wandernden Zigeunervolke. Hamburg: Verlangsanstalt und Druckerei Actiengesellschaft. Wright, G.A. and J.D. Dirks 1983 Myth as Environmental Message. Etbnos 3-4: 160-176. Zemp, H. 1966 La legend des ~ri s m. link '.

A I A R N A I A .Tnstitut IIANNA II I 'I

II

flir Volkerkunde, Universitat zu Koln, Koln.

,1IWFJZ "R, Ethnologisches Seminar, Univer-

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